Reader feedback 6.29.05

SATISFACTION

There have been many orgasm studies over the years ("As Long
as I Get Mine," XX Files, June 15). In my own experience (which seems to agree
with more than one study I read of), women who had good relationships with
their fathers were most likely to have regular, satisfying orgasms. Strangely
enough, they also seem to have less animosity toward men and appear able to go
out in the world, succeed, be, do, and have, and not see a male conspiracy in
every nook, cranny, and disappointment.

I've
noticed also that they don't insist that everyone see the world through their
personal window.

The trick
is to find a man who doesn't have his own baggage. Sadly, too many human beings
carry a full load of cargo out of the growing years. If that's the case, it
takes us a long time to find and unload most of it.

Also,
sadly, we often transfer much of the burden to others in our lives as we
rummage through our trunks in anger, dissatisfaction, and finger-pointing,
searching desperately for a way out of our misery.

Dean Morgan, Garson Avenue, Rochester

IT'S WHAT'S MISSING THAT'S IMPORTANT

PBS President Pat Mitchell, who spoke here June 8 (Say What,
June 15), says: "PBS's defense against the decline in trust for all media
is to listen to the public above all other voices, to stay closely connected to
what they want and need from media."

That is why
WXXI should respond to the thousands of local community members who have urged
the station to air Amy Goodman's Democracy Now! news
program. Goodman seeks out the voices missing from our public discourse. For
example, a Project for Excellence in Journalism study found that of the stories
surveyed, women were news sources in only 27 percent of network nightly news
programs and only 17 percent of PBS's NewsHour
sources.

On
International Women's Day, Democracy Now! broadcast an hour-long interview with
WangariMaathai, the first
African woman and first environmentalist to receive the Nobel Peace Prize, and
her daughter WanjiraMaathai,
who is active in environmental, women's, and social-justice movements. Of that
day's 20 headline stories on NPR, only one was about a woman.

I hope that
City readers will not be taken in by
attempts to frame this as a left-right issue ("Radio Daze," June 15). To quote
former CBS foreign correspondent Tom Fenton: "The problem is not so much
right/left, it's what's left out."

Beth Myers, Church Street, Scottsville (Myers is a member of the
Rochester Democracy Now! committee.)

Editor's note: Maathai's
Nobel Prize was reported by NPR, and she has been the subject of numerous NPR
programs, including interviews on Morning Edition (December 10) and NPR News
With Tony Cox (December 22); a feature on Weekend Edition (November 7), and
coverage of Maathai's National Press Club lecture on
May 15. All of those programs continue to be available for listening on
npr.org.

BIBLE VERSES

How ironic that Dorothy Hayes kept putting down Jim Callan as a naughty child (The Mail, June 8). I'm not the
best at Bible quotations, but something about "Suffer the little children
to come unto me" kept popping up in my mind as I read her letter.

And when I
think about the formal religious business that many churches have become,
there's a Bible lesson about it being easier for a camel to pass through the
eye of a needle than for a rich man to get into heaven.

I have come
to understand that the Supreme Creator who made us all, loves each and everyone
of us exactly as we are.

Rose O'Keefe, Gregory Street, Rochester

A SPARKPLUG, NOT TANTRUM KID

In response to the letter about Father Jim Callan, "Dissent or Tantrum" (The Mail, June 8): A kid with
a temper tantrum? That kid's accomplishments, with the support of his
parishioners while at Corpus Christi,
were noteworthy. Such charities as a home for the homeless, a hospice, a
restaurant providing work and training for ex-offenders, a health clinic, child
care, and an outlet for gently-used clothing were opened. Many are still in
existence.

Then there
were outreaches to other countries: El Salvador
(which supported two sister cities); Chiapas, Mexico;
and Haiti, the
poorest country in the Americas.

As an 80-year-old
practicing Catholic, I never realized that I should have taken comfort knowing
that the church would save me from the gates of Hell. I was expected to "walk
the walk as well as talk the talk."

I was
reminded of the old story that Catholics thought they were the only ones in
Heaven. It's hard to accept that this could be believed in 2005. None of our
deceased have come back to tell us the location of their final resting place.
As for me, if the Dali Lama's future destination isn't Heaven, God help me!

The Rev.
Jim Callan deserves credit for the accomplishments he
spark-plugged with others while at Corpus Christi
and now at Spiritus Christi. My belief is that God is
the one who will be the final judge for each of us.

Janet R. Straub, Green Knolls Drive, Rochester

DUFFY RESPONDED

Wade Norwood's attack on Chief Bob Duffy is sickening. He
only attacks Duffy out of fear that Bob is competition. Mr. Norwood
helped caused the fast-ferry debacle and allowed the East End
to become a bar heaven for young adults who are mainly from outside of Rochester.
He is part of the dysfunctional City Council machine.

I
personally can say that Bob Duffy responded to all letters and phone calls I
made to him while he was chief. The last thing he did was order more drunk-driving
details in my area, and the rate of drunk-driving arrests went up.

Richard Goode, Alexander Street, Rochester

MONORAIL'S CRUCIAL

I highly agree with Matthew Fox about the need for mass
transit in Rochester, particularly
a monorail system (The Mail, June 1). I am just briefly back
in Rochester after a 10-year hiatus
elsewhere.

There is a
group-think mentality that Rochester
is destined to be a ghost town. Without a mass transit system, this will surely
come to pass. It is critical for any up-and-coming, mid-sized city to have a
train system to move people and goods. Rochester's
bus system is egregious at best and is not comprehensive. Having a monorail
system would bolster business corridors with an assured flow of customers.

The
Renaissance project reflects a myopic view of development. It is not a true
transit hub. Rochester needs a
transit hub that ties together cabs, the Toronto
ferry, buses, bikes, Amtrak, a monorail, and a connection to the airport.
Without this critical component to city development, Rochester
is in for disappointment.

A monorail
would attract prospective businesses and corporations, just as the Erie
canal did 150 years ago. If Rochester
cannot see the importance of this, perhaps it will become another casualty to
the Rust Belt.

RohanSamahon, Hollybrook Road, Brockport

WRITING TO CITY

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